"Fierce Tiger?"
Li Qing shook his head with a half-smile, shifting the topic away.
"What is Gu Tianxing's relationship to you?"
Upon hearing these words, Gu Yu's expression changed again and again. He stared at Li Qing warily, even more nervous than when he had just learned that the other man was Fierce Tiger.
"He is my father."
In the end, Gu Yu acknowledged the relationship.
"Phew!"
Li Qing let out a long breath, then took a thick ancient book from his robes and said, "Come to think of it, I should be calling you Senior Brother."
Boom!
As the words fell, the martial arts manual Ancient Profound Hammer Technique landed on the ground, sending dust flying.
Gu Yu's eyes widened. For a moment, he had yet to react and failed to catch the ancient book.
He looked at the ancient book on the ground, something both familiar and unfamiliar, and for a long while, he did not know what to say. He stood rooted to the spot in a daze.
Li Qing was the one who finally broke the awkward silence:
"Master Gu was my master. He taught me blacksmithing and martial arts. Now, it is time for this martial arts manual to return to its rightful owner."
Gu Yu trembled as he crouched down. Even his hands, which had always been steady, were now shaking slightly.
"More than ten years ago, not long after my father joined the Wu Li Army, the authorities sent word of his death. Hadn't he already passed away long ago?"
Even Li Qing was stunned from the spot by those words. Only after a long while did realization dawn on him, followed by fury rising onto his face.
Creak!
Li Qing clenched his fists, as though a blaze were burning in his heart.